The secret to this onion soup is using sweet onions and cooking them slowly, allowing their rich flavors to develop and the sugars to caramelize. Fresh onions are named after the regions where they are grown -Vidalias from Georgia, Spring Sweets from Texas, Walla Wallas from Washington, Mauis from Hawaii, and OSO Sweets from Chile. These onions are prized for their sweetness. They have thin, shiny skins and are flatter in shape than storage onions. These onions also contain more sugar and water so they do not keep as long. Refrigerate them in the vegetable crisper for up to 1 week. Shallots, a member of the onion family, have a mild onion-garlic flavor. When cooking, don't allow them to brown or they will become bitter.

Ingredients

Select ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound sweet onions, quartered and thinly sliced (about 4 cups)

1/2 pound red onions, quartered and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 (15-ounce) cans reduced-sodium beef stock

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste

Directions

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions. Stir well to coat with the butter. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden brown, about 20 minutes. (Don't let the onions burn or they will become bitter.)

Add the shallots and garlic. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes.

Stir in the beef stock and thyme. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Create Your Display Name

In order to finish the submission process, you'll need to create an author display name that will identify you within the recipe portal. You will see your display name as the recipe author and on any comments you submit. You will only need to create a display name once.